


Beauty of the Ocean

by chaelattes



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Fluff I guess??, M/M, Merman Hyungwon, idrk where this idea came from but here we are, ki thinks he’s cute, wonnie is just a curious lil thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-25
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-03-17 12:31:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18965305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaelattes/pseuds/chaelattes
Summary: “Kihyunnie, how am I supposed to eat this with a comb? Do humans eat with a comb? This is a very good one by the way! I don’t think it should be used for eating…”“Hyungwonnie, that isn’t a comb. It’s called a fork. We use it to eat, not to brush our hair, okay? I’ll show you what a real comb looks like later. You can’t eat with that one now though—”





	Beauty of the Ocean

**Author's Note:**

> this is a really late birthday present for szei- I was supposed to finish it before but then I got stuck in a huge writers block djfjnghfhdjdjdn hi szei if you’re reading this I hope you enjoy it!! <3 also thank you to ella for helping me come up with a title ;;; I was so lost and she just came to the rescue skdjjdhfhd ily!

“Jiho, you told me you were at the library.” Kihyun muttered; his eyes glued onto his boyfriend’s hands which were intertwined with someone else’s. It was under the table, so it was clear that Jiho was trying to keep it hidden, but did he really think Kihyun was that stupid?

  
“Yeah, and then I came here afterwards. What’s the problem?” Jiho responded, not seeming bothered at all about the fact that he was getting caught for the umpteenth time.

  
  
“Okay, but you said you’d come straight home after that. If you planned on coming here, you could’ve told me at least.” Kihyun’s hands balled into fists and he tried his best not to raise his voice. If they were at home, he would’ve been shouting already — not out of anger, but because of how upset and hurt he was.

  
  
“It’s not that big of a deal.” Jiho sighed, giving a small shrug of his shoulders. “Hey, Channie, you should probably go. I don’t want you getting caught up in all this. I’ll see you later.” He said, winking at the other.

  
  
The other male smiled apologetically and stood up, before making his way out of the cafe.

  
After he left, Kihyun turned back to Jiho, his eyebrows furrowing and his jaw clenching. “It might not be that big of a deal to you, but it is for me. You told me you were going to come home, and I waited for you. I even cooked something so we could eat together once you got back, but I see you were busy with Chan yet again.”

  
  
“Oh Kihyunnie, are you getting jealous? Channie is just a friend you know, we’re just very close with each other. Come on, stop being silly, let’s go home.” Jiho stood up and attempted to pull Kihyun along with him, but the other stood firmly in his place.

  
  
“You met up with him on multiple occasions, which I caught you on. Not just that, but I even saw you kissing him, Jiho, and you told him you love him. I’m not stupid, I do know how close you two are, but I also know that you have become more than that. You’ve been secretly meeting up with him and telling me lies about where you actually were, because you know I worry. I’m fed up of this, I can’t deal with you hurting me all the time anymore, you know I value the truth over everything yet you continue lying to me. I trusted you, I kept telling myself that this was some sort of nightmare that I’m trapped in, but I guess now I’ve finally decided to answer the wake up call. I’m done, Jiho. We’re done.” Not even giving Jiho the chance to respond, Kihyun turned around and stormed out of the cafe, trying to blink back his tears and ignoring all the stares that he was receiving.

  
  
Kihyun didn’t want to say too much, and he felt a little bad now, but he knew it had to be done. If he had remained silent, Jiho would’ve continued to toy around with him.

  
  
He didn’t want to go back home either, everything there just reminded him of Jiho, and right now all he wanted to do was forget — so there was only one other place he could go to. The ocean.

  
  
It was freezing right now and it was getting dark, but he didn’t care. He needed this.

  
  
He was on his way to the bus station to get to the beach but then he stopped as he heard a car horning at him. The person rolled down their window and flashed a bright grin at Kihyun. It was Hyunwoo, and Changkyun was sitting beside him.

  
  
“Hyung! What are you doing out here alone? Do you need a ride?” Changkyun offered, looking a bit concerned.

  
  
“Uh— ah— yeah, sure.” Kihyun mumbled, before approaching the vehicle and getting inside. “Could you just drop me off to the beach? I just need some time alone.” He hoped they wouldn’t question him.

  
  
“That’s alright, just don’t stay out too long. I don’t want you to catch a cold.” Hyunwoo responded, and then began to drive.

  
  
Most of the car ride was silent. He felt bad for keeping secrets from his friends, but he had a feeling that Jiho might have opened his mouth about it anyway. Once he saw the ocean, he signalled for Hyunwoo to stop and then quickly got out of the car. “Thanks for the ride, I promise I’ll pay you back somehow.” Not giving the others a chance to respond, he ran across the sand and sat down near the water; watching the movement of the waves.

  
  
However, the calming moment didn’t last long as Kihyun suddenly felt someone’s gaze on him.

  
As he looked over the rocks, he was met with big brown eyes staring up at him.

 

He jumped back and was about to run away, but there was just something about the other’s gaze which was pulling him in, as if he was asking him for help. He let himself give in and walked towards the other, only to see that he had a tail instead of legs, his hair was pink, his eyes were now glowing purple, and the said tail was caught in a net. _A merman?_

  
He didn’t have time to contemplate on whether he was just seeing things or not, so he quickly approached the creature and attempted to remove the net, but then he heard a hiss.

  
  
“I’m here to help, okay? Don’t be scared.” He bit his lip and carefully continued untangling the tail from the net, making sure that he didn’t accidentally hurt the other. Once he was done, the creature waved his tail around happily and looked at Kihyun with a bright smile. “Thank you! U-Uh... can you take me back into the water please?”

  
  
Kihyun just nodded his head and lifted the creature, quickly taking him back into the ocean before stepping back. “What are you anyway? Who are you? How did you get trapped in the net?”

  
  
“Oh, I’m sorry, that was a bit rude of me. I’m Hyungwon, and as you can see, I’m a merman.” He looked up at Kihyun with a bashful smile, before averting his gaze. “Humans were hunting for me and tried putting me into this place called an ‘aquarium’. You’re the only human who has helped me, thank you.”

  
  
“Wait what? They tried putting you into an aquarium? That’s awful. Is your tail okay? How did they even find y—“ Kihyun fell silent. He was asking too many questions, he completely forgot about the fact that he was here talking to a _merman_.

  
  
Hyungwon seemed to notice Kihyun’s sudden change in behaviour and shook his head. “It’s okay. You’re not imagining things, mer people just prefer not to show themselves. Humans have been trying to track us down for years, but I’ve always wanted to explore the surface land. I became careless and they saw me, so it was my own fault I suppose. The elders are going to kill me...”

 

“W-Wait okay slow down. Firstly— before I forget to tell you, I’m Kihyun. Secondly, so you came out to explore and you got caught? I would say that you should have known and been more careful, but I suppose a mer person’s curiosity is just as bad as a human’s.” Kihyun mumbled, and his eyes slowly trailed down to the merman’s tail. “Thirdly, you’re hurt really badly. I don’t think you’ll be able to get back to your home until it recovers, your swimming speed would probably slow down right?”

 

Hyungwon just stared at Kihyun in confusion and tilted his head to the side slightly. “Why do you care so much? The elders told me that surface-dwellers were ruthless savages. You on the other hand, seem to be the complete opposite. Are you not a human then?”

 

Kihyun let out a small sigh and sat down on the sand to get on eye-level with the merman. “Yes I am a human and no, I’m not like the ones that you’ve been warned about. I’ll be honest, most humans are pretty awful, but I assure you I’m not one of them. I’m helping you because I want to and I’ll probably become restless later knowing that I left you here to die. I’ll bring you home and put you in the bathtub, how does that sound?”

 

“A bathtub? What is that? Oh, and if it’s easier for you, I can dry out my tail and bring my legs. I see that you’re being genuine about this and I’m grateful, but I don’t want to be a burden.” Hyungwon mumbled, his lips curving into a small frown.

 

“W-What—? So it’s not a bad thing if you dry out?” Kihyun asked, now being the confused one.

 

Hyungwon laughed in response and shook his head. “It is bad. Just like any other fish, if we’re left away from water for too long, we die. I’ll have to return to it at some point because of this, but if you’re letting me stay with you then we could just use this bathtub thing you speak of. Only certain mer people are able to form legs though, I happen to be one of them.” He stated proudly, before moving away from the water. “Don’t worry, I just need a few minutes. I’ve never actually done this though, so forgive me for not walking or standing properly.”

 

Kihyun hummed and watched as Hyungwon’s tail faded from rose gold to flesh tone, and the shape of his legs became clearer. His eyes trailed up the merman’s body, but then he quickly looked away as he felt his cheeks heating up. “You— you aren’t wearing any clothes…”

 

“Hm? O-Oh— is that what those are called? Why do you humans cover yourselves anyway? Are you ashamed?”

 

Kihyun chose not to comment on that and took his jacket off, wrapping it around Hyungwon’s shoulders. “Luckily this is long enough. I’ll just ask my friend for a lift, I don’t want you to walk around in the cold half naked.” He mumbled, before pulling out his phone and dialling Shownu’s number. “Hello? Uh, I need a lift… Are you sure?...  Okay. Thank you. Bye.” He put his phone away and then turned back to Hyungwon. “He’s coming. Let me know if you need to go back to the water.”

 

Hyungwon nodded in response and silently stood beside Kihyun. This felt so strange, he was always told to stay away from humans, but now, he was about to enter the territory of one. If the elders found out, he would definitely be fed to the trench creatures…

 

He was snapped out from his daze as he felt himself being dragged along into the vehicle. Kihyun seemed to notice Hyungwon spacing out and lightly shook him. “Hey, are you okay? This must be really weird, I know, but please don’t be scared. I promise I won’t hurt you, and my friends won’t hurt you either. We won’t let anyone else see you.” His lips curved into a small smile. That was somehow enough to reassure Hyungwon.

 

Once they had reached their destination, Kihyun stepped out from the car and thanked Shownu, before pulling Hyungwon out as well. “Stay with me, okay? Since you don’t know your way around, it’ll be easy to get lost.”

 

Again, Hyungwon only nodded in response, before reaching out to hold Kihyun’s hand. He kept quiet as he walked beside the other and analysed his surroundings. He has only looked at the surface land from afar, he hasn’t actually been on it due to the fear he felt from what the elders said to him. Being so far away from home was already making him a bit anxious, but he tried brushing that feeling aside. He had to trust Kihyun.

 

Once they reached the house, Kihyun got his keys out and began unlocking the door, pushing it open once he was done. Hyungwon stood there in confusion and looked up at Kihyun, who only gave him a reassuring smile and gestured for him to come forward. “Hey, its okay. Come here, it’s nice and warm inside. I’ll make you something to eat too, if you want.”

 

Hyungwon bit his lip and hesitantly stepped inside. Kihyun wasn’t wrong about it being warm, he felt it straight away. He didn’t understand how though since it was so cold outside, but he decided to save the questions for later.

 

Although it only seemed to be those two in the house, he was sensing another presence…

 

“K-Kihyun? We aren’t the only ones here.”

 

Kihyun turned around and looked at Hyungwon with a confused expression. “What are you talking about? Stop being silly, come o—”

 

“Yoo Kihyun! I didn’t think you’d be one to move fast.”

 

“Jiho…”

 

Hyungwon stood there in silence and just watched the two in front of him. He could sense their auras and there was clearly a lot of tension between them. There was a red line around Kihyun and grey one around the other person — red usually meant that the person was angry or distressed, and grey was just neutral. That might not seem like much, but it was worrying since Hyungwon couldn’t pinpoint exactly what his intentions were. It’s either that or he’s just really good at hiding his feelings.

 

“Why are you so surprised? I live here too.” Jiho mumbled, looking up at Kihyun before walking towards him.

 

“I made it clear that I didn’t want to see you — and you were the one who came to move in with me, so I’m officially kicking you out. P-Please leave.” Kihyun answered, and started stepping back as he saw Jiho coming closer.

 

Hyungwon knew he didn’t really have the right to step in, but he didn’t want Kihyun to remain in this uncomfortable situation either. He took a deep breath and stepped forward, standing in front of Kihyun. “Leave him alone!”

 

“Hyungwon—”

 

“Woah there mister new boyfriend, I wasn’t going to hurt him. I just need to talk to him.”

 

Hyungwon lowered his guard and blinked at Jiho innocently. “Boy...friend?”

 

“Well yeah, you two are together aren’t you?”

 

_What was he talking about? He was here together with Kihyun, and he was his friend wasn’t he? And he’s a boy too. Is that what they call boys who are friends?_

 

“Yes, we are!”

 

Kihyun looked at Hyungwon and widened his eyes, but Hyungwon just looked back at him with a bright smile. “If you really just want to talk to him, you can — but if you do anything else, I will be—... v-very angry.”

 

“Alright alright, chill out! If you don’t mind, I need to talk to him alone.” Jiho glanced at Kihyun, who only sighed and turned to Hyungwon. “It’s okay, we won’t be long, I’ll make sure of it.”

 

Hyungwon frowned and nodded his head, before walking away to a different room.

 

Once he was gone, Kihyun turned back to Jiho and glared at him. “You have 1 second.”

 

“I-”

 

“Time up, shoo, go away now.” Kihyun said, starting to push Jiho towards the door.

 

Jiho groaned in annoyance and turned around, before holding onto Kihyun’s shoulders. “Stop that! You always do this when you’re angry, you just tell me to get lost instead of letting me say what I need to. Just listen to me please? I know we aren’t together anymore but I still love you as my friend, that never changed.”

 

Kihyun paused for a moment. Now that he thought about it… it was a bit unfair. He should give him a chance to explain himself. “...Alright, I’m listening.”

 

“I really did love you, none of that was fake. It’s just that whenever me and you argued, I ran to Channie because he’d always listen to me, whereas you just kicked me out. I didn’t realise what I was beginning to feel for him until much later on, and when I did tell him, I kind of lied and said that we broke up? But then he saw you with me afterwards and we argued. But even when he was angry, he still listened to me, even if he didn’t trust me as much anymore. He’d always encourage me to tell you about what I really felt but I just didn’t know how to because of the way you are — when you found out earlier and blew up at me, it didn’t make things any better, but I knew you had every right to be angry, so I chose to leave you alone. I know what I did was wrong, Ki. No one deserves to be treated that way, and I never thought of our relationship as a game either. I’m really sorry.”

 

Kihyun remained quiet for a while. He didn’t know what he was supposed to say — now that he looked back, he really did push Jiho away every time and never gave him the chance to talk about what he felt. Maybe he wouldn’t have been so angry if he had allowed Jiho to tell him first, it was only because he had to find out himself. “I’m sorry, I know that’s a horrible habit of mine. Maybe things could have been sorted out sooner if I had just allowed you to speak.”

 

Jiho smiled and shook his head. “It’s the past now, what’s done is done. Thank you for listening to me now, I just hope we can still be friends. I don’t want to lose you completely.”

 

“You won’t, we can still be friends.” Kihyun smiled back faintly and averted his gaze.

 

“I’m glad. So… I guess I’ll be leaving now, please take care of yourself, okay?”

 

“You too.” Kihyun was about to lead Jiho out, but then he was pulled into a tight embrace, which he hesitantly returned before giving Jiho a small smile.

 

Hyungwon peaked his head out from the side of the wall to see if everything was okay — which it seemed to be, so he assumed that it would be safe to step back out. “K-Kihyun?”

 

Jiho and Kihyun both looked back, and then Jiho walked over to Hyungwon, putting his hand onto his shoulder. “Take care of him, okay? Keep him happy.”

 

Hyungwon glanced at Kihyun with a confused expression, before giving a small nod of his head to Jiho. Jiho smiled and turned around, now making his way out of the house.

 

Kihyun let out a heavy sigh and closed the door once Jiho left. “Uh… I’m sorry, that took longer than expected. Me and him just needed to resolve things. Are you okay?”

 

Hyungwon nodded his head again, but Kihyun could tell that something was off. “Are you sure? You still look so baffled. Do you want me to explain everything?”

 

“I-It’s okay, you don’t have to, I don’t want to seem nosey.” Hyungwon frowned slightly and started fiddling with the end of the jacket sleeve.

 

“I don’t think you’re nosey, you’re just showing concern. Come, let’s sit and talk. Make yourself comfortable.” He flashed a bright grin which caused Hyungwon’s cheeks to redden, and he made his way over to the living room; tugging the merman along by his hand. Once he got there, he flopped onto the sofa and pulled Hyungwon down with him. “So, me and Jiho were in a relationship. In the middle of it, he discovered that he liked someone else, and this was because whenever me and him had arguments, I would always silence him. But with the other person he’d run to, they always listened to him. He was seeing this person behind my back because he didn’t know how to tell me that he likes someone else now, but I ended up catching them myself anyway. Today he just came over to clear things up. He really isn’t a bad person, it was all my fault. So please don’t think negatively of him.”

 

Hyungwon kept quiet for a while as he tried to process everything that was just said, before giving a small nod of his head in response. “I’m sorry, I just thought that he was going to hurt you. You’re my boyfriend.”

 

Kihyun just stared at Hyungwon with a confused expression at first, but after he thought about it, he figured that with where he’s from, things probably worked differently. “Uhm, what is your definition of a boyfriend?”

 

“A boy that is your friend?”

 

“So I was right then. You see, over here, on the surface land, a ‘boyfriend’ or a ‘girlfriend’ is usually what we call a significant other. But some people just prefer to be referred to as a significant other. Does that make sense? I know you probably get told that girls are supposed to be with boys but I believe you can love whoever you want.”

 

After hearing Kihyun’s response, Hyungwon’s cheeks reddened and he quickly turned away out of embarrassment. “I-I— I’m sorry. That must’ve been strange for you. And yes, the elders do say that but I also believe the same thing as you.”

 

Kihyun shook his head and an amused smile curved onto his lips, then he reached out to pinch the merman’s cheeks — which were surprisingly squishy and soft. “Not really. You were being so protective. It was cute. I’m just a little surprised that you’d be that way with someone you just met. Ah, and I’m glad you do. It’s hard to find open-minded people.”

 

Hyungwon rubbed his cheeks after Kihyun pinched them and then smiled at him bashfully. “Mhm, it is hard, and well— you did save my life. I wouldn’t be here if you didn’t remove that net.” He attempted to pinch the other’s cheeks in return, but Kihyun quickly grabbed his wrists and shook his head with a small grin.

 

“I didn’t want you to die. I was tempted to walk away and I thought it was just some stupid hallucination, but like I said to you earlier, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing I left someone behind to die. But hey, if you don’t know what those terms mean, then have you not been in those kinds of relationships with people?”

 

“I can’t be with commoners. My parents would probably find someone and arrange something.” Hyungwon made a face at the thought, and then let out a heavy sigh.

 

“Commoners? Are you—”

 

“Yes. I’m actually next in line. If I’m honest with you, that’s partially— well, mostly, the reason I ran off. I don’t want to go back there, I hate it.”

 

Kihyun’s lips curved into a small frown and he held Hyungwon’s hands, giving them a small squeeze. “Hey— you’re really strong, you know, for enduring all that for so long. It’s not that easy to escape from that kind of environment either, I’m proud of you for making it this far. I promise you’ll be safe with me, I won’t let them find you.”

 

Hyungwon was a little surprised and he fell silent for a moment, unsure of how he was supposed to respond. He just looked up at the other with a faint smile before looking down at their hands. “T-Thank you, you’re really nice.”

 

“It’s okay, I just don’t want anything to happen to you.” Kihyun hummed softly and ruffled Hyungwon’s hair, before getting up. “I’m gonna make something for us to eat, okay? Let me know what kind of things you eat.”

 

Hyungwon looked up and simply nodded his head in response; watching as Kihyun grinned and skipped off into the kitchen. He suddenly had this warm, fuzzy feeling inside him, and he had no idea what it was. To be honest, it scared him. He wanted to avoid forming any emotional attachments, especially on the surface, but it seemed that it was too late already.

 

;

 

Hyungwon was awoken from his deep slumber as he suddenly felt someone shaking him. His eyes slowly opened and he looked for the source of it, only to see Kihyun standing in front of him. As for himself, he seemed to be in… the bathtub…?

 

“I’m sorry, you fell asleep and I didn’t know where to put you. I figured that you’d be more comfortable in water. Are you okay? You’ve been asleep for a really long time. I didn’t make anything yet either, eheh. I got distracted...”

 

Hyungwon sat up and looked down, swishing his tail from side to side before glancing back at Kihyun. He was always so thoughtful, it made him feel a little guilty that he hasn’t really done anything for him in return...

 

“You’re always thinking, huh? Thank you again, I really appreciate it. And it’s fine, there’s no rush.” He attempted to get up, but of course, he slid right back down.

 

Before he could even say anything, Kihyun had already scooped his arms beneath Hyungwon’s body, now lifting him out of the tub. “I’ll put you on my bed, you can dry out your tail there.”

 

“B-But—! Won’t it get all wet…?”

 

“It’s okay, I can just change the sheets. Ah, I also need to buy you some clothes, mine definitely wouldn’t fit you. I’ll just have to find something baggy for you to wear in the meantime.” Kihyun placed Hyungwon down onto the bed and was about to walk out to give him some privacy, but the merman quickly reached out for his hand.

 

“W-Where are you going…?” He asked, looking up at the other with a worried expression.

 

“I thought— you— ah— y-you still don’t have any clothes, when you dry out, you’ll…”

 

Hyungwon’s cheeks reddened, but his grip onto the other male’s hand only tightened. “I-It’s okay… I feel comfortable around you.”

 

Kihyun gulped and gave a small nod of his head, before turning around again. He didn’t know why he was getting so flustered all of a sudden, but he had to admit — Hyungwon is really beautiful. His golden skin, his cherry-blossom-coloured hair, his big chocolate brown eyes, his plump lips which looked like two rose petals — it didn’t feel like he was even real.

 

He snapped out of his thoughts and turned his head to the side, just to see if Hyungwon’s tail had dried up or not. The merman was now sitting there with his knees brought up against his chest, and his gaze meeting Kihyun’s. “W-What are you staring at…?”

 

“You. I-I mean-... yeah, you.”

 

There was a silence between them for a few seconds, and then Kihyun quickly went over to his wardrobe; pulling out some clothes that Hyungwon could wear before tossing them over to him. “...I’ll be downstairs preparing dinner if you need anything, so don’t worry. I’m not leaving you.” Kihyun reached out — hesitating for a moment, before lightly ruffling the soft pink hair.

 

Hyungwon hummed softly and leaned into the touch, before looking up at Kihyun with a small smile; watching as he left the room. He got up from the bed and started putting on the clothes that were given to him. It was a little difficult since he hasn’t really worn clothes before, but he managed to do it. Once he was done, he made his way downstairs to the kitchen, where he was immediately welcomed by the scent of lasagna. He saw Kihyun looking down at something and went over to see what it was — only tilting his head slightly in confusion after he did so. He peeked over the other male, before resting his chin onto his shoulder. “What are you doing?”

 

Kihyun was a little startled to suddenly see Hyungwon right next to him, he couldn't even hear his footsteps. Smiling at the merman, he turned to him and started adjusting his shirt, before poking the tip of his nose. “I’m making lasagna. You probably haven’t heard of that before, but it’s really good I promise. It’s almost done, I’m just checking up on it to make sure that it doesn’t get burnt.” He leaned down to look at the lasagna again and then opened the oven door once he saw that it was done. Once he took it out, he started cutting it up and got out a plate, putting a big piece onto it before putting a fork beside it. “Here, take this to the table. I’m coming.”

 

Hyungwon nodded his head and took the plate and fork, taking it over to the dining room. He placed everything onto the table and then sat down in the chair, before staring down at the lasagna. Kihyun came into the dining room as well and put down a glass of lemonade in front of Hyungwon, before sitting beside him. He had his eyes away from him for a few seconds as he set up everything else, but as soon as he turned back, he saw that Hyungwon was trying to brush his hair with the fork — it didn't look like he was going to actually eat any time soon.

 

“Kihyunnie, how am I supposed to eat this with a comb? Do humans eat with a comb? This is a very good one by the way! I don’t think it should be used for eating…”

 

A soft laugh escaped from Kihyun’s lips and he took the fork from Hyungwon’s hands, placing it onto the table. He was just too cute, especially with the way he said his name just now. “Hyungwonnie, that isn’t a comb. It’s called a fork. We use it to eat, not to brush our hair, okay? I’ll show you what a real comb looks like later. You can’t eat with that one now though—” He got up to get a new fork, placing it beside Hyungwon’s plate.

 

“I’ll show you how to use it.” Kihyun picked up his own fork and cut off a bit from his lasagna piece, before getting it onto the fork; lifting it up so he could put into his mouth.

 

Hyungwon watched very closely, keeping his gaze fixed onto Kihyun as he was demonstrating. After that, he picked up his fork, doing the same thing that Kihyun did, before letting out a small satisfied noise. “Mhm! This tastes great! You’re a good food maker.”

 

Kihyun couldn’t hold back his smile after hearing that, and he simply ruffled the merman’s hair in response, before continuing to eat. Once they were both done, he took all the dishes to the sink and began to wash them while Hyungwon dried them — after being shown how to, of course. After doing all that, Kihyun put all the dishes away and then turned to Hyungwon with a small smile, before poking the tip of his nose. “You did a good job, you’re learning things quicker than I thought. I don’t think it would take much time for you to adjust here.”

 

Hyungwon’s expression lit up, a bright grin now visible on his face. His cheeks looked like round little peaches on his face, and his smile was the most heartwarming thing that Kihyun has ever seen. It only intensified the warm fuzzy feeling that he was already experiencing inside of him. “Really? I’m so glad to hear that! But, I only have you to thank for it. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

 

“Oh gosh, you’re being too nice now. You already know how to do it on your own, you just needed a little more guidance. But I’m happy. I was a little worried that you might have some trouble.” Kihyun mumbled, his lips now curving into a small frown.

 

Hyungwon tilted his head to the side slightly in confusion. “Trouble? What trouble?” Upon noticing Kihyun’s frown, he quickly reached out for his hand, giving it a small squeeze.

 

“Feeling homesick maybe? Refusing to stay in a human’s house? I don’t know. You mentioned what the elders used to tell you. I just didn’t think that you’d be so… compliant.”

 

Hyungwon laughed and then shook his head, before bringing his free hand up to gently pinch Kihyun’s cheek. “No, not at all. You forgot what else I said— I did mention that I was trying to get away, so no I’m not feeling homesick at all. I have more freedom here. I’m not having any problems. Not right now, anyway…”

 

Kihyun caught onto that and furrowed his brows, the frown remaining on his face. “Not right now..?”

 

“Yeah… you know, once they find out I’m gone, which won’t be very long, they’ll send people after me. I’ll have to leave by then, I don’t want your life to be put in danger because of me.” A sad smile made its way onto Hyungwon’s lips and he averted his gaze.

 

Kihyun’s heart sank after hearing what the merman had said to him. He didn’t think that he would become so attached to his new house guest, and definitely not this quickly either… there was just something about Hyungwon that drew him in, but he didn’t quite know what it was exactly. Maybe it was his caring nature, how innocent he was, and that he’s different from everyone else. He even stood up for Kihyun even though he barely knows him. Who does that?

 

“I don’t want you to go, but I don’t want to hold you back either. Just do what you need to do, okay? I’ll help you get back to the ocean when it’s time.” Kihyun paused for a moment, but before Hyungwon could respond, he quickly cut him off to dodge talking about the topic any further. “Um… you must be tired. It’s getting late too, we should go up.” He mumbled, taking the merman’s hand before leading him towards the staircase.

 

Kihyun’s sudden change in expression hadn’t gone unnoticed, but Hyungwon did know how to take a hint. If Kihyun didn’t want to talk about it anymore, he wasn’t going to continue. The last thing he wanted was to put his human companion in a difficult position.

 

The merman followed Kihyun up the stairs and into the bedroom, before stopping and turning to the other with a confused expression. “There’s only one bed… if it’s too uncomfortable for you, I’m fine going into the tub. You’ve already done so much for me and I really appreciate it. I don’t want to cause more trouble for you…”

 

It was silent between them for a while, but then Kihyun broke it by speaking up. “You aren’t causing any trouble. I just didn’t think that you’d be comfortable with it either… but if you’re okay, then it’s fine. Just let me know when you feel like you’re drying up and I’ll take you back to the tub.”

 

Hyungwon simply hummed in response and gave Kihyun a reassuring smile, before going towards the bed. He placed his hands onto it first, feeling the material of the covers before lifting his legs up, climbing onto the bed. After doing so he pushed his legs beneath the covers and then laid down, allowing a soft sigh to escape from his lips once his body had relaxed. “Feels nice, it’s warm. Strange…”

 

Kihyun smiled slightly and approached Hyungwon, getting onto the bed before laying beside him. “How so? Does the ocean feel different?”

 

“Mhm, it’s cold. Not a pleasant feeling. If it was possible I would stay here forever.” Hyungwon closed his eyes and rolled to his side, now facing Kihyun. “M’ tired… wanna sleep…”

 

Kihyun’s fingers found their way into Hyungwon’s hair, gently brushing through the smooth cherry blossom coloured strands. “Get some rest, you need it. I have a lot planned for tomorrow.” He whispered softly.

 

Hyungwon’s lips formed a small pout and he shook his head, before letting out a small yawn. “But… wanna talk to you...”

 

“Maybe tomorrow, not now. It’s sleep time.” It was hard for Kihyun to hold back his smile after hearing that. As much as he wanted to talk to Hyungwon too, he didn’t want to force him to stay up if he was tired. He just continued caressing the merman’s hair as he noticed that he was beginning to doze off, while humming softly.

 

Hyungwon wasn’t able to give a proper response, it only came out as a small murmur before he had allowed the sleep to overtake him. Kihyun moved his hand away from the merman’s hair and looked up at him, before letting out a small sigh. His mind began going back to what they were talking about earlier — he knew Hyungwon had to go back some day, but he didn’t want him to. The fact that he had become so attached to him in such a short amount of time… it was scary. But it wasn’t as if he could do anything about it, he was the one who chose to save the merman and take him home.

 

He shook his head and brushed the thought off. Overthinking about this was only going to cause problems, and he didn’t want that. He’ll just have to do as much as possible with Hyungwon to make him feel happy and content on the surface land, before he has to return underwater. He doesn’t want him to go back with any regrets — and he doesn’t want himself to let go with any regrets either.

 

Smiling to himself again, Kihyun mumbled a small ‘goodnight’, before shifting towards Hyungwon and closing his eyes, falling into a deep slumber.


End file.
